Gall Force - Intervention
by RocketManLen
Summary: The War between the Paranoid and the Solnoid rages on, and sometimes innocent bystanders get caught in the middle. What happens when a third race tries to help put an end to a war that has gone on for centuries?
1. Encounter

**Encounter**

It was a modest system, as star systems go. Eight planets, two of which could be habitable with a little work, not unlike many other systems in the area. It was encountered, mapped, and forgotten about centuries ago – remembered only by the computers that kept the star maps up to date.

Then the War found its way to this insignificant region of space.

Within moments, both sides began annihilating each other, each determined to not let the other side have a tactical advantage by controlling this system. Powerful weapons of cosmic destruction were brought to bear, the leaders of both sides determined to deny this system to the enemy.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the system thought that way...

* * *

Marcus winced as yet another ship in the convoy vanished into a large fireball, evidence that one more missile had found its mark. He threw his ship into a series of rolls and loops, hoping to confuse his pursuers enough to escape. He grinned to himself as the image projected before him showed that some of the missiles lost their lock, careening off course and striking each other. His relief lasted only briefly, as the remainder of the volley lunged through the fireball, relentlessly locked on target. No choice left, he spun his ship around. As the ships' drive strained to maintain his acceleration away from the missiles, Marcus fired his only weapon.

A scintillating beam of intense light erupted from the ports on either side of his ship, fanning out once they passed the bow. The combined beams engulfed the death-dealing javelins closing in on him, overwhelming them so completely that they disintegrated instantly – without even the slightest trace of debris remaining.

The immediate threat dealt with, Marcus swung his ship around and lowered his acceleration, easing the strain on his overworked engines. As he set to work repairing the damage from the first attack, he had time to ponder the situation he found himself in. The ships he and the rest of his convoy ran from were familiar to him, if only from the disjointed distress calls that had reached them from other systems. No warning was given, no hail acknowledged, they just materialized and opened fire. The first volley had come as such a complete shock that they were totally unprepared. Before anyone had known what was happening, most of their defences had been disabled, and his own main drive had been damaged. All they could do now was run.

A tingle in his head signalled that the computer had new information for him. " **Instructions from Base Alpha,** " the computer 'said' to him via the NeuriLink interface implanted into his brain, " **All ships are to evacuate the system immediately and rendezvous in Sector X-351.** "

Marcus sighed heavily. Another system lost to these invaders... damn them. "Acknowledge the signal and activate the Nullifier for Lightspeed jump." He thought back to the computer. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Steph was on her way out of the system yet. She had recently taken a posting on the third planet, and was probably more aware of what was going on than he.

" **Base Alpha does not respond to HyperChannel signal.** " His computer tonelessly informed him. " **Nullifier charge sequence commencing. Warning – extreme energy discharge detected from vicinity of fourth planet.** "

He looked up at his monitor in time to see it – the systems' central star brightened, and a seemingly solid-looking shell expanded towards them at a terrifying rate. It took several moments to realize that their sun itself had been turned into a bomb.

"Activate the Nullifier!" He shouted at the computer. "Take us to LightSpeed!"

Oblivious to the urgency in Marcus' voice, the computer responded in its usual monotone. " **Nullifier currently at 50% charge. Insufficient for Jump. Ninety seconds required to attain nominal charge.** "

"We don't HAVE ninety seconds! Jump! NOW!"

Programmed to follow instructions, the computer activated the Jump sequence. As the final step approached, the expanding shell of subatomic particles caught up with them, charging the ship to a dangerous level. Circuits failed in dozens of areas, some even exploded. A powerful surge of energy flowed through the NeuriLink device, straight into Marcus' brain.

Automatic filters took care of much of the surge, but enough leaked through. Marcus jerked backwards as he lost control of his body, dropping to the deck with a thud. As he fought to regain control of himself, he heard the alarm that signalled the start of the Jump. He also saw, barely, the warning on the monitor that the Jump system had been damaged. The ship would jump, but not far.

Resigned to death, Marcus let his consciousness slip from him...

* * *

The Star Cruiser _Lorelei_ warped into normal space near the remnants of the Twenty-First Star System. Their mission was a standard rescue-and-reclamation operation - search for survivors and salvage whatever could possibly be used to help continue the war effort. They didn't really expect to find anything, though...

The first they saw of the ship was its' energy track on one of their sensor sweeps. They thought it might be a derelict Solnoid cruiser, and orders were issued to move closer. As the ships drew together, the differences became notable.

"What do you make of it, Eyes?" asked the Commander.

"Hard to say." Replied the ships' Sensor operator. "The markings bear a striking resemblance to Solnoid identifiers, but the design is unlike anything the computer has ever seen before."

"Should we dock with it for inspection?"

The Commander thought for a moment... _Do I allow a potentially hostile alien access to my ship?_ She had just been informed that a life form had been detected.

She didn't think too long. "Equip a boarding party of two to investigate. Have them proceed with caution, but to open fire ONLY if necessary. I want whoever is on that ship alive to answer questions."

* * *

Shildy and Spea strode side-by-side through the dimly-lit corridors of the alien craft, weapons at the ready. Encased in their pressure suits, they had forced their way in through an oddly non-standard airlock near the bottom of the ship, and were working their way up. Surprisingly, they found no bodies in a ship that would, by Solnoid standards, require a crew of at least fifty. More surprising, they found no fighter bays, no gunnery positions, no armoury.

"It's almost as though this ship wasn't built for combat." Shildy mused.

"Perhaps it's an escape craft, originally part of a larger ship?" Spea ventured.

"I don't think so. We saw no docking latches during the external survey. No access ports, NOTHING. This HAS to be all of it."

Suddenly, the lights brightened. "Whoever's alive in here," Shildy muttered, "they're working on repairing the damage. Come on – let's see if we can find the bridge."

The increased light made it much easier to figure out where they were going, and presently they came to a doorway at the end of a short corridor. Spea examined the markings closely. "I THINK this is the bridge," she concluded, "but for all I know, it could be the brig. The alphabet is similar, but not identical."

"Well, we'll just have to take our chances." Shildy said confidently. She motioned Spea to open the door as she stood at the opposite side of the opening, gun at the ready.

It took Spea a few moments to puzzle out the workings of the door control, but managed to find the actuator without much difficulty. The door slid open, they spun into the gap with weapons at the ready, and their questions were answered.

It was indeed the bridge. Three control stations were laid out in typical Solnoid fashion, but two of them seemed to be inoperative. A pair of very Solnoid-looking legs were protruding from the third console, and Shildy aimed her pistol in that direction. "FREEZE!" She shouted.

A muffled thump, followed by a groan, told her that her message had been understood. The legs started to back out of the console. Once free of encumbrance, it stood.

Shildy gaped. It WAS a Solnoid! From the back, Shildy could see that she was a little taller, and more muscular, than herself. Her hair was cut rather short, and her flight suit was in desperate need of repair. "Who are you?" Shildy said when she found her voice.

The creature turned to face them, and Shildy blinked again. Whatever this thing was, it was unlike ANY Solnoid she'd seen. Its face was covered in hair, its skin was far rougher, and its eyes were dull and lifeless. It looked at Spea. It looked at Shildy. Its' eyes locked on Shildy, straining to see through the helmet of her suit. As it stared at Shildy, its' eyes grew wide, and some light came to them. It took a step forward.

Shildy pointed her gun at its' head. "I SAID, DON'T MOVE!" Her determination wavered, however, when she saw that a single tear ran down its' face.

It spoke – with a deeper voice than any Solnoid, but in perfect Solnoid dialect, "Steph. Oh, Steph, you're here. I thought I'd lost you."

Then its' knees crumpled, and it collapsed to the deck.


	2. Interrogation

**Interrogation**

After reporting their findings regarding the unknown ship, the vessel was tractored into a position alongside the _Lorelei_ – its unconscious occupant taken to the medical facility for treatment and study.

"There's no mistake, " Spea stated as she read the information displayed on the monitor before her, "It's Solnoid all right, right down to the DNA. Some of the chromosomes are arranged oddly, but otherwise it's a perfect match."

"But, how is that possible?" Shildy muttered, "Sure, the basic form might be the same, but there has never been a Solnoid that looked like THAT!"

"It gets stranger – it doesn't have an implanted datatag... and look at this." Spea informed her, pointing to the internal scan. "See these objects embedded in the brain? There's no record of any Solnoid tech of a similar nature – I can't even begin to guess at what they're for. Musculature and bone density don't match Solnoid norms, there are discrepancies in the size and arrangement of some of the internal organs, and don't get me started on what that weird growth between its' legs is supposed to be!"

Shildy nodded absently at that remark, her thoughts elsewhere. This thing LOOKED like a Solnoid, it TALKED like a Solnoid – but it was most definitely NOT a Solnoid.

 _And yet..._

Something about it had stirred something in her – something she didn't understand. She first noticed when she heard its' voice for the first time, it was rough, but oddly comforting at the same time. Before it passed out at her feet, its' eyes had held a glimmer of some emotion that was as compelling as it was confusing. And now, looking at it lying on the scanner table, those feelings resurfaced stronger than before. They were feelings that she could almost remember – something... long lost, instinctive, _primal_.

"SHILDY!"

Speas' voice snapped her back to reality. "Oh, um... I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

Spea groaned, placing her hand over her eyes and pulling it down over her face. "Ugh! I was SAYING that we likely won't learn anything more from the scans. Aside from being exhausted and slightly dehydrated, it seems to be in good health. We should move it into a recovery room and let it come to naturally. Since it speaks our language, it can answer questions directly when it does."

"Good idea, but let's use the Isolation Protocol – we still don't know what it is, and we can't risk it getting loose on the ship. Continuous monitoring, it doesn't so much as twitch without being recorded."

"Roger that." Spea acknowledged as Shildy spun on her heel and strode out the door.

Once the door slid closed, Shildy leaned her back against the corridor wall and let out a breath. _What is that thing doing to me?_ \- she silently pondered – _Why does the mere sight of it make me feel so strange? Strange, and..._ _ **nice**_ _?_

She shook her head to try and clear it, her hair billowing around her. _NO! I'm a soldier, and my duty is to my ship and my crew mates – I will NOT let this thing get to me!_

She straightened herself out and headed off to brief the Captain.

* * *

When Marcus drifted back to awareness, the first thing he realized was that he was not aboard his own ship. Even before he opened his eyes, he could tell that the entire _feel_ was different.

As the fog lifted from his mind, he began to recall the utterly bizarre series of events that had recently transpired – beginning with the rushed evacuation of the star system and culminating with the supernova explosion that had overloaded his mind-link with the ship. What had happened after that point was difficult to figure out - he seemed to remember working to repair the damage to the main control console, and then seeing...

 _NO!_ \- he thought as he replayed the scene in his mind – _it couldn't have been Steph that I saw. There's no way she could have escaped that awful disaster... even if she had gotten to a ship, it would have been too deep in the system to avoid being caught in the shockwave of an exploding star._

"Steph... no..." he muttered, his breath ragged as he nearly sobbed the words.

"Steph?"

His eyes flew open upon hearing another voice beside him. He turned his head to find a girl – no more than ten years old, wearing round glasses and sporting a ponytail of light brown hair – regarding him with intense curiosity. "Ummm... hello?" he ventured as he lifted himself to a sitting position.

"Oh, you're awake," the girl responded. "I'm Amy, Med-Tech on duty this shift. You've been unconscious for twelve hours. How... how are you feeling?"

Marcus swung his legs off the bed and stood up in one fluid motion, stretching his arms over his head as he did so. "All things considered, I'd say that I'm in pretty good shape. Thank you for your timely help, Amy – my name is Marcus, by the way..." He paused as he noticed that she was focused on a location that was significantly lower than his eyes. He looked at himself, and realized why she was flustered. "Why am I naked? And what's with the stare?"

Amy shook her head violently, her eyes tightly closed. "Sorry, sorry!" she managed to blurt out. "Your uniform is on that table over there – we had it repaired and cleaned for you while you were out."

Marcus walked over to the table and inspected each piece before putting it on. As he slid on his boots, he looked over to Amy, who still had her eyes squeezed shut. "It's okay – you can look now." As she opened her eyes and let out the breath she had been holding, he eyed her curiously. "Why are you acting like that? Have you never seen a naked body before?"

"NO! I mean... YES! I mean... not like yours!"

 _This situation is getting stranger by the moment_ , Marcus mused. _How could a Med-Tech not have experience with basic anatomy?_ He decided to set that thought aside for the moment. "Never mind that for now. Can you tell me where I am?"

"Sure!" Amy responded brightly, "You're..."

"AMY!" a voice bellowed from behind him. Marcus turned to see the woman he had mistaken for Steph in the doorway, glaring at the pair. "You will answer no questions from this creature – DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Yes! Yes, Ma'am!" Amy responded, cringing at the outburst as she ran past the tall woman and left the room.

The new occupant pressed a button on the wall panel, and the door behind her slid closed. "Now," she addressed Marcus with ice in her voice, "You are the one who has some questions to answer..."

A scowl crossed Marcus' face as he folded his arms over his chest. "Oh? And just what makes you think I'd be in any mood to answer your questions at this point?"

"It would appear that you don't understand your situation here," his long-haired inquisitor commented, "as of now, you are a prisoner of the Solnoid Defence Forces..."

 _Solnoid?_

"... and you WILL answer any questions put to you, or face some rather harsh consequences."

She didn't even bother waiting for Marcus to acknowledge the threat that had just been put to him. "Now – how do you explain your appearance?"

Puzzled by the question, Marcus responded with a raised eyebrow. "What about my appearance?"

"Don't play dumb! Our tests on you indicate that your DNA is Solnoid, but you are unlike any Solnoid in recorded history! Your ship is unlike anything we have in the fleet! And we can't identify the things implanted into your brain!"

She gave him an accusing glare. "You're a spy, aren't you? You were created by our enemies to look like us, and placed at the edge of a battlefield where they KNEW we would find you so that you could report our activities back to your masters!"

Marcus could take no more, and snapped at her. "LOOK, lady! I don't know who you think you are – but I'm here because my ship got caught in a supernova! I was running from two groups of ships that invaded our system and started SHOOTING at one another! They..." He paused as he started to connect what he had just found out to earlier events. "It was YOU who did it!" He returned her glare with equal venom. "YOU were one of those invaders who thought nothing of blowing up a star! Do you even realize what you've DONE? There were two MILLION people in the inner system!" He lunged forward and grabbed her arms. "Don't you even CARE about that?"

She stared at him, wide-eyed and uncertain, as his fury died down and he relaxed his grip on her. "I won't answer any questions." He muttered. "Get out, before I do something we'll both regret."

She unlocked the door and backed out.

* * *

As Shildy re-locked the door, she paused to evaluate what had happened just moments before. _I could have knocked that thing flat on its back when it grabbed me... I SHOULD have done that. Why didn't I? Why did I leave when it asked me to?_

She pondered what it had said. _"Two MILLION dead! Don't you even CARE?"_

Her training told her that casualties were part of war, and that winning the war was worth the loss.

 _And yet...was it? Was it really?_


	3. Explanation

**Explanation**

"I don't understand it at ALL..." Shildy muttered as she stared at her meal tray.

"What don't you understand?"

The voice startled her out of her thoughts, as she looked up to gaze at the lavender-haired teenager who wore the uniform of a Communications Tech. "Oh - hi, Catty. Have a seat and join me?"

"Thank you." Catty said as she set her tray on the table and slid into a chair opposite Shildy. "So what is it that you don't understand?"

Shildy toyed with her food as she responded. "That thing we have in the Isolation Ward. It says that it's not a Paranoid spy, but it won't answer simple questions about why it looks the way it does. It claims that there were two million people inhabiting the inner planets before we used the System-Destroyer, but there are no records of any Solnoid colonies being established here. And it seemed to actually get upset over the loss of that many in battle – it's as if it doesn't realize that we're in a war for our very survival here, and that losses are necessary to ensure that we prevail!" She chose to keep the part about how those statements had affected her own resolve to herself.

Catty broke eye contact with Shildy for a moment, her golden eyes darting to one side. "That... does sound rather odd. Would you mind if I tried talking to it? I know it's not my department, but I'd like to see if I can expand my skills to include dealing with prisoners." She lied.

Shildy considered the request for a moment. "Well... I guess that there's no harm in trying. Just be careful in how you deal with it, because it can be somewhat," she paused as she sought for the appropriate word, "disconcerting."

Catty smiled at Shildy. "Thank you. I'll be sure to stay on my toes."

* * *

Marcus sat on the floor of the room he was in, legs crossed and eyes closed, when he heard the door behind him slide open. "I told you before, I'm not going to answer any of your questions." He noted without moving.

"Excuse me, may I come in?"

The politeness of that simple inquiry compelled Marcus to open his eyes and turn his head to the speaker – a teenager with purple hair cut to shoulder-length. "Isn't that a rather odd request to make, given that I'm your captive?" He observed with a cocked eyebrow.

"Perhaps it would be, if I thought of you as a prisoner." The girl replied as she walked over to a panel on the wall and pressed a series of controls. "We can talk freely now – I've locked the door and shut off the monitors. My name is Catty, by the way."

Confused by this turn of events, Marcus decided to see where this went. "Nice to meet you, Catty. My name is Marcus."

Cattys' eyes widened at his statement. "You... you have a NAME?" she blurted, "How can you have a name?"

"Well... yes, I have a name. My parents gave it to me when I was born."

Catty shook her head. "But, I don't understand – did you somehow manage to retain the memory of your past after the contact point was implanted? That wasn't supposed to happen! According to the Plan..."

"Hold on a moment." Marcus suggested. He noticed that her knees were shaky, so he pulled a couple of chairs out from the wall and set them so they faced each other. "Have a seat, and tell me about this 'Plan' you just mentioned."

Catty slumped into the chair with a sigh as Marcus sat down opposite her. "The Species Unification Plan – it was devised years ago as a way to combine our two races into a more peaceful third race. So far, though, there has been only one successful combination – and it was only partly so. When I heard about you, I began to hope that you might be the success we were trying to attain, but it seems that I was mistaken. The contact was supposed to eliminate any past memory, so the new form could start fresh. Now, it seems that the entire effort is doomed to fail, and we'll lose everything!" She covered her face with her hands.

Marcus grew more confused as she explained all of this... but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the young girl before him. He leaned forward as he used one hand to pull hers away from her face, while lifting her chin with the other. "Take it easy, and slow down," he said in his most reassuring voice. "What do you mean, you will lose everything?"

"This war has taken so much from us," she told him. "With these new System-Destroyer weapons, it's only a matter of time before both our races are wiped out. We wanted to try and preserve some part of ourselves – something that would carry on after we were gone – and this plan was our last hope. But with nothing to show for it but failure after failure, it's going to be abandoned."

"But... how could it have gotten this far?" Marcus wondered. "Surely you've tried negotiating a settlement by now, haven't you?"

"I... I don't understand," Catty stammered. "What is that?"

"My people have had their differences in the past, and that sometimes led to conflicts. But we learned that most of the problems arise from a lack of understanding on the part of those involved. If you take the time to actually talk to one another, you can figure out what's causing the conflict and work out how to deal with it. This approach has gotten us to the point where we haven't had an armed altercation for hundreds of generations."

Catty beamed as she considered what Marcus had just told her. "Oh, what a WONDERFUL idea! I don't know WHY someone hasn't thought of this before!" She jumped out of her chair and turned towards the door. "I can't WAIT to tell the others that you're going to help us put an end to the war!"

Marcus stopped her before she could take a step towards the door. "Now, hang on a minute there! I'm a scout-ship pilot, not a mediator – I don't have the kind of training that task requires. I wouldn't even know where to START!"

Cattys' look of hope quickly became one of despair at his words. Marcus noticed this, and an idea came to him. "But I DO know how to reach those who WOULD. We need to get to my ship so that I can send a message to my people – they can SEND mediators and get things started."

Her hopeful smile returned at his suggestion. "Come with me," she said as she offered him her hand, "we should have a clear path to the landing bay." She pressed some buttons on the control panel and the door slid open. "We'll have you to... SHILDY!"

The exclamation startled Marcus, who was pushed back into the room as Catty backed away from the trio at the door – Shildy, the one who had tried to interrogate him earlier, Amy the flustered med-tech, and another girl with rust-coloured hair.

Shildy glared at Catty. "What do you think you're doing, locking the door? And just WHERE were you going to take this creature?"

"Ummm... well... you see, I..." Catty stammered, but could not continue.

Marcus put his hand on her shoulder. He smiled as she looked at him worriedly. "It's okay, I think it's time I explained what's going on." He turned back into the room and motioned the group to follow. "Come in, and I'll tell you my story." Once the trio entered the room, Catty closed and once again locked the door.

"My name is Marcus," he began, "And I'm not one of you..."


	4. Revelation

**Revelation**

Shildy looked at her reflection in the mirror, and realized that she didn't recognize herself anymore.

 _Why does he have such an effect on me?_ She wondered to herself. _He doesn't seem to get to the others as much..._

She thought back to the events that led her to her latest crisis of confidence...

* * *

It had been thirty minutes since Catty had requested access to the prisoner, and Shildy was still toying with her meal. Her thoughts elsewhere, she found that she didn't really have much of an appetite. Instead, she kept coming back to the words that the thing in the Isolation Room had said to her...

"They _invaded the system and just started SHOOTING!_ "  
" _There were two MILLION people in the inner system, and you killed them ALL!_ "  
" _Don't you even CARE?_ "

She had heard the anger in those words, but also the pain. And, for some reason, it was a pain that she could feel herself. This was a new experience for her, because she had been trained from childhood to be a soldier, and to accept that the path to victory often included casualties. _I've lost comrades, and even friends, in battle – WHY does that creatures' grief over the loss of STRANGERS bother me the way it does?_

Her bubble was burst by a pair of fingers snapping in front of her nose. "Hello-o! Marsus to Shildy! Are you awake in there?"

She looked up to see Spea staring down at her. "Huh? Oh, sorry - I just had something on my mind."

Spea gave her a bemused smirk. "Really? Anybody I know?" she teased.

Shildys' cheeks reddened at the implication. "N-no, not really. Never mind."

Spea grinned at how easy it was to bait her friend. "Just kidding! Anyway, I came to tell you that the monitors in the Isolation Room are down. Can you come with me to check for faults?"

 _The Isolation Room? Where that THING is?_ "Right," she said as she got out of her chair, "let's go see what the problem is."

As they neared the door, the pair saw Amy approaching from another corridor. "What is that for?" Shildy asked, pointing to the meal-tray that Amy was carrying.

"Well... umm... you see... I was concerned that the patient might be hungry, so I was bringing something to eat." Amy looked at the floor for a moment, then back at Shildy. "It's okay, right?"

"Just be careful," Shildy cautioned, "it's still a potentially hostile alien, and we don't know what it would do if it got loose." She pressed the button on the panel controls to open the door... but instead of sliding aside, the status display gave a red 'Locked' alert.

"It must be locked from the inside," Spea noted.

 _How is that possible?_ Shildy wondered. _I hid the controls when I was here, how could it have figured them out?_ "Spea, open the panel and rig a bypass."

Spea was about to do so, when the display changed to a green 'Open' label. The door slid aside as they heard Catty say "...clear path to the landing bay. We'll have you to... SHILDY!"

Catty froze when she saw Shildy and the others standing in the doorway. Amy dropped the tray she was carrying, the jarring ring of the impact the only sound in the corridor.

Shildy glared at Catty, whose eyes seemed to grow wider as her hands flew to cover her mouth. "What do you think you're doing, locking the door? And just WHERE were you going to take this creature?"

"Ummm... well... you see, I..."

The prisoner then walked up to Catty and placed a hand on her shoulder. Catty turned to look at it as Shildy also turned her attention to the creature. For some reason, it had a reassuring smile on its' face as it said "It's okay. I think it's time I explained what's going on." It turned its' back on them and strode back into the room, beckoning the rest to follow. "Come in, and I'll tell you my story. Catty, would you please lock the door again? I promise that you are in no danger." Once Catty locked the door, it turned to face the group. "My name is Marcus, and I'm not one of you."

This admission garnered a self-satisfied grin from Shildy, which faded as it continued.

"But I'm not a spy either. I come from a race that call ourselves Solnarian. We've been peacefully exploring the universe for a great many generations, meeting and interacting with thousands of intelligent civilizations along the way."

"But... you look like us," Amy observed.

"Not exactly." Spea corrected.

"Evolution is a tricky thing to explain," Marcus pointed out. "This form is rather common among spacefaring societies – with minor variations, of course."

"That's all well and good," Shildy pointed out, her eyes locked on Catty, "but that doesn't explain why you were helping it escape. Where were you taking it, anyway?"

"For the record," Marcus answered before Catty could speak, "it's rude to address a thinking being as 'it'. Would you please use 'him' or 'he' when referring to me?"

"FINE!" Shildy said with a theatrical eye-roll, "Where were you taking HIM?"

"He can help us end the war!" Catty exclaimed.

"WHAT?" Shildy and Spea shouted simultaneously.

"You can?" Amy asked hopefully.

"My people have a long history of mediating and resolving conflicts," Marcus pointed out. "We have found that simply talking about your differences in a neutral setting can go a long way towards addressing problems before they can escalate."

"It wouldn't help." Shildy grunted.

"Can't hurt to try," Spea offered, surprising Shildy.

Marcus nodded his head, a smile crossing his face. "Exactly right. And it seems a better option than letting your war continue to its' ultimate conclusion."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"I've seen the destructive power that you're capable of harnessing – if this war were to go on for much longer, it's clear that neither side would survive. Continue fighting, and you doom yourselves to extinction."

Amy and Spea gasped at this announcement. Shildy tilted her head down and closed her eyes tightly, her long hair falling forward to obscure her face. "No," she whispered, "we can still win. Our cyborg fighters can..."

"They'll only delay the inevitable," Marcus told her. With every battle, you lose more than you gain." He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know it's hard, but..."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked as she swatted his hand away, startling her three companions with her outburst. "What are you DOING to me? Why do I feel so STRANGE when you're around?" She stared into his eyes, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill from hers. "Ever since we boarded your ship – when you looked at me and called me by that OTHER name – I haven't been able to THINK straight! WHY?"

Marcus, surprised and confused by the sudden change of subject, misunderstood the question. He took a deep breath before answering. "Steph is – or rather, was – my bond-mate. She was on the third planet of this system when the attacks came, and could not get away when the star was destroyed. I was still in shock when you found me, and I mistook you for her. I'm sorry for that."

Amy, Spea and Catty looked at each other. "Bond-mate?" they chorused.

"Life companion, partner, spouse, you probably have a different term for it,but the concept should be similar. " Marcus tried to elaborate. "When two people become so close that they commit to spend the rest of their lives together. Joys are amplified, pains are reduced, because they are shared between people who consider the other persons' feelings as important as their own."

"That... is... ABSURD!" Shildy exclaimed. "You're just trying to trick us by distracting us with this talk about peace and bonding!"

"That's not true," Marcus told her. "I have nothing to gain by doing such a thing. What is it that has you so bothered?"

Shildy felt her face grow hot as she looked at him. "I don't... I can't... I..." was all she could say, before rushing towards the door and leaving the others with confused looks on their faces.

* * *

Looking at her reflection, Shildy replayed the events in her mind repeatedly, trying desperately to figure out what it all meant. She could not understand why Marcus had her so uncertain of herself, and she could not continue the way she was. Over and over, the words of their conversation repeated in her head.

" _Negotiate a peace, or face extinction._ " Marcus had said.

" _Can't hurt to try..."_ Spea had offered.

" _When another persons' feelings are as important as your own."_

 _WHAT?_

" _Their feelings are as important as your own..."_

 _Was that it?_

Taking a deep breath, Shildy straightened herself out and headed down the corridor – Speas' words giving strength to her stride.

" _Can't hurt to try..."_


	5. Escape

**Escape**

Marcus rubbed the bridge of his nose between two fingers as the three remaining girls stared at the door that their friend had just bolted through. All of them had been surprised and shocked by the outburst, and turned to Marcus with confused looks on their faces.

"What just happened?" asked a puzzled Amy.

"I don't know," Spea responded. "She's been acting oddly ever since we boarded that ship and found you," she directed her comment at Marcus. "Something about you has put her off. I mean – I know you're odd and all, but I've never seen anything affect her like this before."

"This is a new situation for all of us," Marcus pointed out. "Perhaps she just needs time to come to terms with the existence of another species." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "At any rate, we still need to get to my ship so that I can get in touch with my people and help your two races come to some kind of accord. Will the three of you help me do that?" He smiled as the they nodded their heads in support. "Thank you. Catty, I suppose that there will be cameras along the way – can they be disabled, or do we have to avoid them?"

Catty thought about this for a moment. "There are cameras in the corridors, but I won't be able to disconnect them all. If I did, alarms would go off and armed teams would be sent to check for suspicious activity. But there are no monitors in the access tunnels and ventilation shafts." She sat down at a computer terminal at a corner of the room and started typing. She projected an image of the _Lorelei_ in the air above the desk and expanded it to show the room they were in. "If we take this route," she explained as she highlighted the path, "we will reach an air-vent about ten meters from the main landing bay. Since we're not on Alert status, the bay won't be guarded. We can grab a shuttle and take you over to your ship before anyone knows what's happening."

"Sounds like we have a plan." Spea said with a grin. "But this room has a self-contained air system, so we'll have to find one in the corridor."

"I thought of that," Catty noted. "There's a maintenance hatch on the corridor wall opposite the door to this room. From there, we can easily get into the shaft that will take us to the landing bay."

Spea gave her a wink and raised her thumb. "Let's do it, then. Catty, you go first. Marcus, follow her. Amy and I will be right behind you."

Catty opened the door and cautiously stuck her head out, looking both ways to ensure that nobody was coming down the corridor. Seeing that it was empty, she crossed the deck and pulled open the panel she had described to the group. Once inside, she looked back and waved for the others to follow – Marcus first, then Amy. Spea closed the door to the room they had just left before joining the rest, Catty closing the hatch as she passed through the opening. "Okay, Catty," Spea whispered, "you know where we're going – lead the way."

* * *

Navigating the twists and turns of the dimly-lit maintenance shaft took longer than any of them expected – after missing several turns and having to double back, the four found themselves at the air vent Catty had described. Marcus and Spea forced the grille open while Amy and Catty gave them room to work. Once the opening was clear, Spea did a quick check for any Solnoid personnel who may have noticed their unorthodox entry into the corridor. "All clear," she hissed, "let's go."

The group quickly made their way towards the open doors that led to the landing bay. They spotted a shuttle that was ready for flight – but as they started towards it, alarm klaxons began to wail and an announcement came over the ships' paging system.

"ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL! The prisoner from the alien ship has escaped. It may attempt to sabotage this vessel. Be on alert and report any suspicious activity, but do not take action until reinforcements arrive. The creature is believed to be unarmed, but its' capabilities are currently unknown, so exercise extreme caution."

Marcus wasted no time. "All of you - into the shuttle as fast as you can! GO!" The four of them made a dash for the boarding ramp – Spea in the lead with Catty, Amy, and Marcus not far behind. As Spea reached the top of the ramp, she activated the mechanism that would retract and seal it for departure. Marcus was still climbing as it locked into its' closed position with a slight hydraulic hiss.

"We have to hurry," Catty pointed out, "before they lock down the launch bay."

The sound of the shuttle lifting off shocked them all. "What's going on?" Amy cried out. "Have we been caught in a trap?"

"Only one way to find out," Spea observed as she sprinted down the corridor. "Come on – the control cabin is this way."

A moment later, they were at the open doorway and rushed in as the mysterious pilot took the small craft through the air-barrier and out into space. Without turning, the pilot said to them, "It's about time you got here," in a familiar voice, "When the alarms sounded, I thought that I'd have to go out and find you."

"SHILDY?" gasped a startled Amy. "How did...? When...? What?"

"There's no time to explain," Shildy said as she flipped several switches on the control panel in front of her, "Strap yourselves in, we need to get Marcus to his ship."

As Marcus situated himself in the copilots' chair and the others took seats at the remaining stations, the communications system came to life. "Transport Ell-two-seven-five, you are not authorized for departure. Return immediately, or be fired upon. I repeat – Transport Ell-two-seven-five, return to the ship immediately."

"That's not good..." Spea sighed.

"I may be able to do something about that," Marcus told them as he leaned forward to adjust the frequency setting of the communicator and pressed the 'Transmit' button. "Ship," he said, "authenticate Marcus – Lambda-Seven-Seven-Four-Epsilon. Status."

" **Authentication acknowledged,** " came the immediate response. " **Repairs complete. Vacuum-flux generators at full capacity. Nullifier at your command.** "

"We need a diversion in order to get to you. Can you access the other ships' computer – disable their lightspeed drive and their weapons systems?"

" **Acknowledged. System link established. Lightspeed drive disrupted. Note – intercepted transmissions being routed to your onboard database. Alert – weapons fired before system disabled. This ship will be destroyed in sixty seconds.** "

"What? No – we need you! Evasive maneuvers!"

" **Evasive not effective. There is another. Tracking beacon detected at coordinates three-three-nine by one-nine-two, relative distance nine-nine-four. Beacon frequency eight-seven-one-point-two-two-six. Signal indicates...** " the message ended abruptly as a fireball appeared where the ship had been.

"Goodbye, my friend..." Marcus whispered. As he switched off the communicator, he turned to Shildy and asked, "Does this ship have a lightspeed drive? Can you take us to those coordinates?"

"It does, and I can." Shildy answered. "Those coordinates are about an hours' travel from here." She punched some keys at her left-hand console. "Course laid in – jumping." The universe outside their window became streaked with colours. "We have one hour – all of you may as well get something from the galley."

Amy, Catty, and Spea released their belts and left the cabin. As the door closed behind them, Marcus looked at Shildy. "Thank you," he said to her, "I don't know why you're doing this, but I'm glad you are."

To Marcus' surprise, she looked at him with downcast eyes. "Would you... would you tell me what she was like?" His silence compelled her to continue. "Your... your bond-mate - what you called me before – Steph? What was she like?"

Marcus thought about this for a moment before answering. "She was a planetary engineer – very dedicated. She turned dead worlds into living ones because she believed in the future. Her passion was infectious – more than once I found myself overwhelmed by her vision, because she had a flair for inspiring others to do great things. Her smile could outshine the stars, and her touch was electric."

"Believed in the future..." Shildy muttered. "I've always thought that winning the war would guarantee our future, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. What you said – about us facing extinction – did you really mean it?"

"My people came close to just that, a long time ago. When your weapons become so powerful, the temptation to use them becomes too great. It took the loss of several planets before we realized the brink we were facing. We stepped away from that brink, and I think that you can as well."

Shildy smiled at him when he told her this, and he smiled back. "But tell me," he continued, "what changed your mind? This is a radical difference from our first encounter, after all."

Shildy sat silent for a moment, then said "I came to realize a couple of things. The first is that I DO care about the lives that are lost. And the second is..." she hesitated for a moment, uncertain if she was ready to admit the next part.

But Marcus looked at her intently. "The second is...?"

"The second is – I met someone whose feelings are as important to me as my own," she said softly as he placed her hand on top of his.

The sound of the door sliding open caused Shildy to jump slightly, pulling her hand away from Marcus. They turned to see Amy and Spea walk in, carrying a drink container in each hand. "You were taking so long," she told them, "so I thought we'd bring you each a calorie juice." Amy offered one of hers to Shildy, while Spea presented one to Marcus.

They sipped at their drinks for a while, then Spea broke the silence by giving Shildy a sidelong glance and asking "So – what were you two talking about? Must have been interesting, judging by the way you were looking at him."

Shildy gaped at Spea in surprise, but the door slid open and Catty rushed into the cabin before she could respond.

"We've got a problem!" Catty cried frantically, "I found those transmissions that your ship sent us – a Central Guard battle group has been sent to collect you for interrogation and analysis! They should be reaching the _Lorelei_ right about now!"

"If the Central Guard knows about you," Shildy explained to Marcus, "then the Paranoids know about you as well. They'll send ships of their own to intercept the Central Guard ships and try to take you for themselves."

"The Central Guard can track ships under Lightspeed Drive," Spea added. "They'll be able to follow, and catch us when we warp-out."

"It won't matter," Marcus answered. "We're almost to our destination, and that means we have a good forty-five-minute head-start on them. We'll figure something out before they reach us."

"Coming up on the coordinates," Shildy told the group. "Secure stations to reduce speed."

Everyone took their positions and strapped themselves into their seats as Shildy took the ship back into normal space.


	6. Discovery

**Discovery**

The shuttle carrying the five fugitives jumped into the blackness of empty space.

Automatically, Shildy scanned the area with the ships' sensors. "No planets, no energy traces... nothing to indicate the presence of a ship." She turned in her seat to look at Marcus. "Could your computer have given you the wrong coordinates?"

"Not possible," Marcus said defensively. "It's never been wrong, and it never once gave false information. Let me try something..." He activated the communications console and entered the numbers they had been given. "Eight-seven-one-point-two-two-six." As soon as he punched in the last digit, he was greeted with a distinctive high-low-high-low pulsing. "That's a tracking beacon, all right – slightly out of date, but still in use. Close by, too, given the signal strength." He punched a few more controls. "The expected response is my authorization code sent on the same frequency. So..." He tapped the 'Enter' key.

The ship jerked abruptly as the lights dimmed. "Propulsion is down!" Spea cried. "Weapons are disabled, too!"

"We're caught in a tractor beam," Shildy exclaimed. "We're being pulled towards... SOMETHING!"

"It's a docking beam," Marcus told them. "There's no danger here. Relax, and enjoy the ride."

"That's easy for YOU to say," Shildy scolded him as he clasped his fingers behind his head and sat back in his seat, "This has never happened to any of US before, so how can you expect...WHAT?"

She cut herself off as the starscape beyond her window disappeared and was replaced by a cavernous and well-lit landing bay. The four girls stared out at the sight, mouths open and eyes wide.

"You could fit the _Lorelei_ in here, with room to spare!" Spea whispered in amazement.

They felt a quiver as the shuttle settled onto the deck. The muffled sound of clamps releasing, followed by a hissing sound, told them that the boarding ramp was being lowered. Looking out the window, they saw a doorway begin to glow.

"We're being invited in," Marcus explained as he removed his harness and started towards the rear of the cabin. He turned to the four with a smile, "Are you coming...?"

They looked at each other uneasily for a moment before Shildy rose from her seat. "We are. Come on, everyone – let's go."

Marcus led them down the steps of the ramp and into the bay. As soon as his foot touched the deck, the glowing doorway silently slid open to reveal a transport capsule. The five sat on bench seats as the door closed and the capsule slipped into motion. Moments later, the door opened onto what appeared to be an empty control room. As they entered the room, the group was bathed in a soft orange light. As it extinguished, Shildy noticed Marcus tilt his head to one side for a moment before saying the oddest thing she had heard.

"Use audio, please," he said to the air, "the others aren't Linked."

Then a rich and deep voice that seemed to come from everywhere addressed them. " **Greetings** ," it said, " **and welcome to Explorer Waystation Ess-Three-Two-Nine-Nine-Five. I am the Intelligence charged with the keeping of this station – call me Sentinel.** "

"Thank you for bringing us in safely, Sentinel," Marcus replied. "But where is your crew? Why are there no support vehicles around?"

" **This sector has been isolated for centuries,** " Sentinel answered him. " **There has been no need for crewed operations. I was left in order to monitor the region, should my presence become necessary.** "

"Hey!" Spea interrupted, "In case you forgot, there are TWO groups of ships headed our way. As soon as they reach us, they're going to start shooting at each other – have you thought about what we're going to DO about that?"

" **Confirmed.** " Sentinel added. " **Long-range scans indicate two groups of four ships inbound, converging on this location. Emergence from Lightspeed drive estimated at fifteen minutes from now.** "

"Okay. They won't notice that Sentinel is here, with the cloaking screen in place, but that won't stop them from firing upon each other the moment they materialize." Marcus pondered. "What we need is a way to stop them from getting that far. Sentinel – what kind of facilities and equipment do you have functional?"

" **That list is extensive,** " Sentinel replied. " **Linking the data into your memory will take less time.** "

"Do so," Marcus simply stated. Four pairs of eyes watched him as he tilted his head to one side and took on a look of intense concentration. After a few moments, his eyes shot wide open. "Reflex generators!" He exclaimed, "You have functional Reflex generators!"

"What's a Reflex generator?" Shildy voiced the question that the other three were wondering.

"It's basically an energy-dampening system," Marcus told her. "Anything contained within a Reflex field will be unable to use any device that requires a great deal of power fed to it in large pulses."

"Like weapons?" Spea ventured.

Marcus nodded. "And movement. They'll be like insects caught in resin. That should give us the time we need to talk to them and, hopefully, convince them to stand down and allow us to try and put an end to the conflict."

Shildy thought about what Marcus had just said, closing her eyes and resting her chin on her knuckles. "That just might work," she agreed confidently. "What do you want us to do?"

"Just stand beside me," Marcus offered. "When we make contact, having you four in the picture will add impact to the offer." He could see that they were confused by his proposal. "Think about it – four Solnoid soldiers, offering to talk about a peace settlement? What better image could we project?"

Not surprisingly, Catty was the first to agree. "I think it will work," she said to the others, "and we show that we're serious about wanting peace."

"Let's do it," Spea agreed.

"I'm in," Amy concurred.

Shildy looked at her three companions, then turned to Marcus. "It's unanimous, then. We're behind you all the way," she told him with a smile.

Marcus smiled back at them. "Wonderful. Okay, take your places – the show is about to start." They arranged themselves in a staggered line – Shildy and Catty at Marcus' left hand, Spea and Amy at his right.

Sentinel projected an image of the incoming ships in front of them. " **Breakout to normal space approaching. Reflex generators charged and standing by. Ready to activate at your command. Breakout detected.** "

"Time to clip their wings," Marcus muttered. "Activate Reflex generators."

" **Generators online.** " Sentinel confirmed. " **All eight ships are immobilized.** "

"Do a sweep of their computers first – full records scan of both groups," Marcus suggested.

" **Scan complete,** " Sentinel responded a few moments later. " **Translation not required.** "

"Good," noted Marcus, "makes things easier. Time to make our presence known – drop the cloaking field and open a channel to the lead ships."

" **Channels open,** " Sentinel replied, as the commanders of both forces appeared in images before them.

 _Time to put an end to this_ , Marcus thought...


	7. Surprise

**Surprise**

Captain Korin mulled over her orders as the stars flashed across her monitors.

She, and the other four ships of her Central Guard battle detachment had rendezvoused with the battle cruiser _Lorelei_ just less than an hour ago. They had expected to transfer a prisoner of unknown origin for questioning, only to discover that it had escaped in a stolen shuttle and had somehow sabotaged the _Lorelei_ in order to prevent pursuit. She had ordered one ship of her group to remain behind and assist in restoring the ship to operation, while the rest of her group pursued the alien along the course it had taken when it had jumped to Lightspeed.

 _Do we have another enemy to deal with now?_ \- she pondered silently – _Just as plans are getting underway to eradicate the Paranoids from our midst, we have to deal with this new threat?_

"Something odd..." her executive-on-duty muttered under her breath.

"Is there a problem?" Korin inquired.

"The transport shuttle we've been tracking – it emerged from Lightspeed a little while ago, and then it just... vanished."

"You mean it exploded, right?"

"No, Captain. There was no energy burst to suggest an explosion. It was on a heading of two-two-three when it disappeared from all sensor scans. I can't explain it."

"We'll find out what happened soon enough – we've reached the coordinates. All ships - deactivate G-Cancellers and drop out of Lightspeed."

The four ships emerged into normal space in a burst of residual energy. "Fan out and begin sensor sweeps," Korin ordered, "search for signs of the shuttle or debris."

"Scans indicate no debris, no trace of asteroids capable of destroying the shuttle, and no residual energy signatures to suggest that they made a second Lightspeed jump." The sensor operator responded. "Further – no gravitational anomalies consistent with a black hole, no radiation above background, nothing to say that a ship was ever here."

"This is damn peculiar," Korin muttered. She was unable to complete the thought, as alarm klaxons began to blare.

"Four ships inbound!" called the sensor operator, "Breakout imminent, two maar dead ahead!"

The screen before them flared as it muted the energy release that accompanied a ship transiting through the Lightspeed barrier. When their vision returned to normal, Korin immediately spotted the familiar spiked-U shapes that she had almost hoped would show up.

"Paranoid battleships!" she announced needlessly. "OPEN FIRE!"

The ship lurched as soon as the words left her lips, shoving her forward into the podium before her.

"Weapons do not respond!" her exec called out. "Engines are off-line!"

"It's a TRAP!" Korin screamed her frustration.

* * *

Commander Drel stood silently between his two adjutants as they sped through the non-space that was part of Lightspeed travel.

He had been extremely fortunate this day – having taken part in the battle that had resulted in the destruction of Marsus, homeworld of their ancient enemy, he had found his ships in position to intercept a message that described the existence of a being that the Solnoid were treating as a spy. Knowing that his race was physically incapable of employing such a tactic, he knew that the accusation was not reasonable – however, the idea that this unknown creature had been interacting with his peoples' sworn foe, learning their secrets and weaknesses, convinced him to risk apprehending it to aid in ending the war once and for all... in favour of the Paranoid race, of course.

And so, with the approval of Supreme Commander Born, he and his four-ship flotilla were enroute to the last known position of this enigmatic alien. He considered this to be a straightforward operation that would not present any difficulty.

"Maintaining course four-nine-three," his adjutant informed him, "thirty maar to warp-out point."

"Very good," he said, the tentacles he used in place of vocal cords giving his voice a slight bass rumble, "all ships will assume standard combat pattern upon warp-out. Charge weapons, but do not fire unless I give the order – we want to take this creature alive."

"Thirty seconds to warp-out. Weapons ready at your command. SIR! Enemy ships detected in the sector! It may be a trap!"

As the four ships returned to sub-light space, the enemy ships came into view. Drel could clearly see their weapons-bays swinging open and coming to bear on his group of ships.

"ALL GUNS! RETURN ENEMY FIRE!" he shouted, his two assistants hurrying to obey.

They didn't have a chance.

Before any orders could be relayed to the remaining ships, the lights dimmed and the ship itself shuddered as if struck.

"Weapons are inoperative!" his lieutenant called out. "Drives, shields, and drones not responding!"

"It's a Solnoid trap!" Drel cried in rage.

Suddenly, the monitor screens in front of him began projecting images and text at a rate too fast for any of them to follow.

"Our computers have been invaded! Everything is being read out!"

 _Do the Solnoids actually have the technology to do this?_ Drel fumed, "What is HAPPENING?"

* * *

"CAPTAIN! Our computer records are being copied! Every order, every operation, every last detail of ship functioning! They're taking all of our secrets!"

Once the displays went black, Korin stared out at the enemy ships.

"Why don't they attack...?"

"Energy fluctuation at three-one-two!" the sensor operator yelled out. "Something is happening that I've never seen before!" She adjusted the viewer to display what was taking place...

* * *

Drel watched helplessly as every bit of information was drained from his ships' computers. It did not take long for the screens to once again go dark, and an eerie quiet fell on the ship.

"Energy discharge at zero-four-eight relative!" his second announced. "Shifting scan to visual!"

As the image changed from the motionless Solnoid ships to the region where the odd phenomenon was taking place. Drel watched as the stars seemed to twist and shift before vanishing behind a gargantuan axe-shaped vessel that dwarfed even their large planet-destroyer ships.

* * *

"WHAT is THAT?" Korin yelped in confusion. "Even High Leader Journey doesn't have a ship that size!"

"The computer doesn't recognize it either," her exec added. "Whatever it is, it's neither Paranoid nor Solnoid."

"Could it be behind this trap?" Korin mused. "What does it want?"

As if on cue, the screen in front of them jumped to an image of something that bore a striking resemblance to a Solnoid, but was definitely NOT one. It had a rugged and angular face and seemed to have hair growing around its' mouth. It was clothed in a silver-grey outfit that was unlike any Solnoid garb. Flanking it were four Solnoids in light-duty uniforms – the tall one with long black hair standing to one side, behind a shorter soldier with mid-length purple hair. On the other side was a soldier with curly brown hair standing behind a child who sported glasses and a blond ponytail.

Its' eyes shifted from one side to the other, as if scanning the interior of the ship. Then its' eyes gazed straight ahead, seeming to bore right into the back of Korins' head.

Then it spoke...


	8. Intervention

**Intervention**

 _Time to put an end to this..._ Marcus thought, before addressing the twin images being projected before his group.

"Captain Korin of the Solnoid Central Guard, Commander Drel of the Paranoid Fourth Fleet. I am Marcus Newman of the Solnarian Intergalactic Federation. I have immobilized your ships so that we might have a chance to talk."

"Talk?" Korin sneered.

"What is there to talk about?" Drel added.

"This war that you are engaged in has been going on for far too long," Marcus explained. "Too many lives have been lost needlessly, but it does not have to continue. Intelligent life is rare in the universe, and you are more similar than you may be aware. You can embrace your differences instead of fighting over them. By working together, you can come to a solution that doesn't involve destroying each other. My people can help, if you're willing."

Marcus did not see Shildy smiling when he made his offer.

* * *

Captain Korin remained silent for a moment, as she read a message from her exec that appeared on a monitor screen concealed in her podium.

 **Missile batteries being switched over to manual. Stall for time.**

Korin kept her stony expression, but grinned inwardly. _We may be able to take advantage of this, after all._ Keeping her hands out of sight, she typed in her response.

 **Target all Paranoid vessels and the alien installation. Hold fire until I order.**

* * *

On the Paranoid ship, Commander Drel listened as his Second Officer used their ability to speak in a manner that was undetectable by Solnoid ears to make a report.

" _Weapons section informs that missiles are being modified for manual launch. They need a few minutes in order to complete the alterations._ "

" _Very good_ ," Drel sub-vocally rumbled his response, " _inform me when modifications are complete. Lock onto the alien and all Solnoid ships. Fire on my command._ "

* * *

"An intriguing offer," Captain Korin said, addressing Marcus, "I would be willing to consider your proposal, provided that Commander Drel is agreeable to it as well."

Drel appeared to slide forward slightly, as his robes hid the step he took. "I, too, agree to your offer," he said, "It is, as you say, preferable to extinction. How do we proceed?"

"We need to contact your leaders," Marcus explained, "and invite them to meet in a neutral sector. There are many regions of space that have not been touched by either of your races, any one of them would be willing to host a summit. Delegations can be as large or as small as you desire, but they must all be unarmed as a show of trust and goodwill. I can send a message to my people and have them dispatch trained mediators."

"Contacting High Leader Journey will take some time," Korin stated, "she is always on the move, and very few know how to reach her directly. I can put you in touch with her Chief-of-Staff, who can pass the message on to her – would that be good enough?"

"Supreme Commander Born is similarly difficult to reach," Drel pointed out, "but there are procedures in place that will help facilitate contact."

"I see," Marcus replied. "And just how long do you think these procedures would take?"

* * *

 **Missile batteries ready, Captain. Awaiting your order to fire.**

 **Good. Stand by.**

* * *

 _All missiles ready to fire, Sir._

 _Hold and await my order._

* * *

"I would think that it would not take more than a day or two for a request to travel up the chain of command," Drel suggested.

"A similar timeframe would be required to reach the High Leader," Korin added.

On the screen before them, the image of Marcus tilted his head in an odd gesture. A moment later, he straightened up and said, "Would you like to send the messages from this ship? The two of you together, side-by-side on neutral ground, would be a powerful show of support for a peace initiative, don't you think?"

Korin was the first to voice her objection, "I, ummm, I don't think it will be possible to get to you. After all, our propulsion systems have been shut down, so our shuttles are inoperative at the moment."

"I find myself in the same dilemma," Drel agreed, "It is an unfortunate set of circumstances that we find ourselves in – unable to have a face-to-face meeting, on the occasion where we work together for peace."

"Well, then," Marcus offered, "how about a different gesture of good faith?"

"What do you suggest?" Korin asked.

"How about you both disarm the missiles you have rigged for manual launch?"

"What?" Korin and Drel shouted simultaneously.

"WHAT?" Shildy, Spea, Catty and Amy cried.

"I am linked to this ship," Marcus explained, "and with a communications channel open, this ship is linked to your computers. I was aware of your messages from the moment you sent them. Your plan will not succeed, and you will only harm yourselves, because..."

He got no further, as both commanders turned their heads and shouted, "BREAK OFF COMMUNICATIONS AND OPEN FIRE!"

"No..." Marcus whispered as the images faded.

* * *

Captain Korin grinned as she watched the missiles from all four of the ships under her command leap away on their mission to destroy their enemies. Her satisfaction immediately turned to shock as the missiles began bursting into huge fireballs mere seconds after launch. She barely had time to gasp in surprise before the shockwaves from multiple micro-nuclear explosions shredded the ship around her and turned her into a cloud of ionized gas that quickly dispersed into space.

* * *

Commander Drel roared his frustration as the missiles he ordered launched began exploding before they had even left their launch tubes. His ship careened out of control and rammed his port-side escort craft, triggering a blast that disintegrated the other two ships in his convoy.

* * *

Shildy and her friends stared in horror as all eight ships were destroyed by their own missile volleys. Amy closed her eyes in a futile attempt to hide the sight from herself, while Catty covered her mouth with her hands to stifle her startled gasp.

Spea turned to Marcus, confusion apparent on her face. "What just happened?" she asked him.

"That's the danger I was trying to warn them about," Marcus replied sadly. "A Reflex field has a very sharp boundary that prevents any high-velocity objects from passing through it. Those missiles struck what was basically a solid wall. So..."

"They tried to destroy each other, but just ended up destroying themselves?" Shildy tried to complete his thought.

He nodded. "I didn't want it to end like this," he said as he hung his head solemnly.

Shildy placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "I know," she told him.


	9. Departure

" _Perhaps, from some far-off place, our creators watch our tragic war and grieve for us._ "  
-Captain Catty Nebulart, Solnoid Intelligence Division

 **Departure**

The five of them stared at the debris on their projected viewscreen in silence for a few moments as it slowly dispersed in every direction.

"I was wrong," Marcus said softly, his head still down.

"No, Marcus, you were right," Shildy offered, "I understand that now. Peace is the better choice."

Marcus looked up at her and smiled sadly, his hand moving up to cover hers. "That's not what I was wrong about. In order for a peaceful solution to be found, both sides have to WANT one to be found. I was naive to think that I could offer an alternative to people who aren't looking."

"What will you do now?" Amy asked.

Marcus looked down at her. "I have to warn my people to avoid this region of space. As long as the fighting continues, it won't be safe for us. We've already lost too many lives in the crossfire, so quarantine is our last option. We'll stay away until you're ready to come to us for help."

Spea looked at him. "And what about us?" she wondered aloud.

"We have to go back," Shildy decided. "We can work to persuade our people to strive for peace. We need to preserve SOME part of our civilizations, so we go back and try."

"But how can we go back?" Catty asked, "We helped Marcus escape – we'll be punished severely for that, once we return to the _Lorelei_."

"Don't worry about it," Marcus said to her, "You were all hostages during my escape. You got away from me during the battle, and you saw my ship destroyed in the fighting. Sentinel will alter the records in your shuttle to match that explanation – you'll be blameless."

Shildy nodded. "That's what we'll do, then."

"There is something I should tell you, though," Marcus added. "I don't like that I have to tell you this, but I think you deserve to know. When I scanned Commander Drels' computers, there was a record of his most recent battle. I'm sorry to tell you that your homeworld has been destroyed."

"Marsus gone? No..." Catty whimpered. Amy and Spea just stood mute.

Shildy put a look of determination on her face. "All the more reason to go back," she said. "Even if we lose, and vanish into history, we need to make sure that it's not in vain."

"Right. Let's do it," Spea stood by Shildy in agreement. Catty and Amy nodded their heads.

Marcus smiled at the group.

* * *

As they made their way to the landing bay where the shuttle sat, Marcus touched Cattys' shoulder. "I need to speak to you privately," he whispered into her ear, before raising his voice to address the others, "Would you excuse us for a moment? There's a personal matter I need to discuss with Catty here." The two slowed their pace to allow their friends to pass through the door and let it close behind them.

"What is it, Marcus?" Catty wondered aloud.

"I wanted to thank you for trusting me to the degree you did," he told her. "That's a very rare quality in a synthetic."

Catty took a step back, eyes widening. "You... you know? How long have you known?"

"Since we arrived at the bridge of this station," he told her. "When Sentinel scanned us, he told me all about you. I understand why you've kept it a secret from the others – but I think they deserve to know the truth now, don't you?"

"I... I'm not sure. I'm afraid of how they'll react. When others have found out about us, it didn't go so well," she admitted.

"They trust you, Catty," Marcus told her, placing his hands on her shoulders and smiling at her. "It's time that you trust them as well."

She smiled back at him. "You're right. I will."

"Atta girl," Marcus joked as they walked towards the door to the landing bay, which slid open when they neared it.

Shildy was waiting at the bottom of the boarding ramp. "The others are ready to go," she said, "but I didn't want to go without saying a few things first."

Catty walked up the ramp, leaving Shildy looking at Marcus uncertainly. "You've taught me so much," she began to say, "about myself, and about my people. I don't think that I can put into words how much I appreciate all that you've tried to do for us."

Marcus looked into her eyes. "You could stay," he suggested. "There's a lot of universe left to explore – you could explore it with me."

Her eyes widened at the offer, but she closed them as she shook her head. "I have a duty to my people. As long as there's a chance that we can save ourselves, I can't abandon them. And I won't."

"I understand," Marcus told her. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her cheek, causing her to gasp in surprise at the sensation. "Stay alive," he whispered into her ear, "We'll see each other again."

She walked up the ramp with a smile on her face. As the ramp closed, she saw Marcus wave at her, so she waved back.

* * *

Stars slid past their window as Shildy and her crew prepared to make the Lightspeed jump that would return them to the _Lorelei_. "All set," she said, "We're ready to go."

"Do you think it will work?" Amy asked. "Persuading everyone that we can actually make peace with the enemy, I mean. It seems like an impossible task, now that Marsus has been destroyed. Won't everyone be more intent on doing the same to them?"

"That's why we have to try," Spea said to her. "We have to get them to understand that we can't keep doing to them what they've done to us. Like Marcus said – we have to show them that there are other options that should be tried."

"Before we do," Catty interrupted, "there's something I want to tell all of you." All eyes turned towards her as she took a breath before continuing. "There's been a plan in motion for some time now, one that was supposed to keep a part of the Solnoid race alive for the future. I am part of that plan." She looked at the other three, and copied Marcus' words from not too long ago.

"You know me as Catty, but I'm not what I appear to be..."

* * *

From the control room of the station, Marcus watched the shuttle recede into the distance before making the jump to Lightspeed drive. He sighed heavily as they disappeared.

" **You knew that she would refuse,** " Sentinel observed, breaking the silence, " **so why did you bother to ask?** "

"She had to be given the choice," Marcus said aloud. "I may have been too late to break the cycle for her people – but now that she knows that the cycle CAN be broken, she has a part to play in making sure that it does. They all do. I had to give them that."

" **But you didn't tell them the rest, either.** " Sentinel pointed out.

"That would have destroyed them completely," Marcus responded. "The knowledge that they're the descendants of a Solnarian refugee ship that was lost and forgotten during our own Age of Madness? That is something that they need to learn on their own – they need to advance to the point where they can accept that part of their history without going mad themselves. They're almost there, but it's not the right time. So we have to go, and wait until the time is right. I have the feeling that it won't be much longer, though."

" **Vacuum-flux generators online at full capacity,** " Sentinel acknowledged the unspoken command. " **Nullifier charge nominal. Course set for Solnarian home system, outer perimeter marker established. Awaiting your command.** "

"Scatter some micro-probes first," Marcus suggested. "We'll need to keep track of events in this part of space, even as we warn the others to stay clear. Things will escalate quickly from this point on, and we need to be ready to return."

" **Probes dispersed,** " said Sentinel. " **Jumping.** "

"Time to go home," Marcus whispered, as the ship vanished in a burst of light.


	10. Return

**Epilogue: Return**

Two years later, and the War was finally over.

Just as had been predicted, the conclusion came with the total destruction of both sides. The loss of their respective homeworlds, combined with the insane single-mindedness of both fleet commanders, had ensured that the only possible outcome was extinction. The remains of the Sigma Narse system would bear silent testament to the passing of two civilizations into oblivion...

* * *

Shildy closed her eyes and silently mourned the loss of her people as she and her three companions drifted among the debris of the Final Battle. As they picked their way through the wreckage, any hope of finding survivors transformed into despair at the sight of every ship - from either side - being surrounded by a cloud of corpses that was slowly spreading into the void.

Still – she glanced at her companions and realized that they had, in a sense, succeeded in their mission. They had found Elision, the ancient computer-mind that had kept the records of their past safe. Through it, they had learned of the cyclical nature of history, and their role in the unfolding of the next cycle. It had taught them much of their past, and that this might not actually be an ending for them. During the battle – while each side was focused on exterminating the other, it had transmitted the entirety of its memory to them so that it would not be lost. All of Solnoid history, from their earliest written records to the events that brought about their demise, was now stored on a memory chip that had been loaded into the capsule they were preparing to launch. It would take many thousands of years before it reached its' target – Chaos, moon of Terra, in the Ninth Star System. When the hybrid life they had left on Terra attained a civilization capable of finding their legacy, perhaps they will also have learned to not make the same mistakes that the Solnoid people had.

As she placed her hand on the lever that would send the capsule on its way, the hands of her three friends reached out to cover hers. In a show of complete trust and comradeship, they sent the capsule on its long journey the same way they had began this endeavour – as a team.

 _My team_ – Shildy thought as she watched the capsule recede into the distance – _how far we've come in such a short time_. Her thoughts drifted back to all the people she knew, the ones who had brought them to this moment...

She thought of Captain Nebulart – the Intelligence Division officer and model for their android companion Catty, who had given her the hope that this war would not end in futility... she had sacrificed her life on the planet Embryo in order to ensure that their legacy would survive intact.

She thought of Lufy – the Attacker pilot and most recent member of their little cabal. She had once thought of the War as something that could be won, but eventually realized that nothing good would come out of all that devastation. In the end, however, she had rejoined the fight – unable to alter the course of her destiny, she had thrown herself into the thick of it and gone out in a blaze of glory to give her friends the time they needed to complete their task.

Finally, her thoughts turned to Marcus... the not-quite-alien who had shown her that there were other – better - paths to take. Before meeting him, Shildy had been nothing more than a soldier - as convinced of the rightness of the Solnoid effort as Lufy had once been. His arrival had caused her a great deal of upset, but that upset had set her on a new course which would, she hoped, bring a brighter tomorrow for those left behind.

Absently, she stroked her hair at the remembrance of him – she still warmed to the memory of their bittersweet parting, the tingle she felt as his lips pressed against her cheek remained fresh in her mind. She had desperately wanted to accept his offer, and go with him when he left... but she could not abandon the others to such a bleak fate, so she chose to remain where she was, and fought to preserve what she could.

 _Wherever you are, I hope that you've found a way to be happy..._

Amys' voice snapped her back to reality. "So... what will happen to us now?"

 _Same question she always asks..._ Shildy groaned inwardly. "I really don't know, Amy. This ship doesn't have the ability to Jump, so we're stuck in this system. We have food and fuel to last us for a few days – more, if we can salvage anything from what's left of the fleet. But beyond that..." she left the grim conclusion unspoken.

All her energy spent, Amy slumped to her knees onto the deckplates. Tears stained her glasses and ran down her face as she sobbed silently. Spea knelt down and embraced the distraught youngster, comforting as best she could.

* * *

With no events to mark the passing of time, they did not know for sure how many days had passed.

Their food had run out, and the air was starting to get quite stale. The three girls spent most of their time asleep – Catty had shut herself down in order to save her energy reserves. Of the four of them, she alone might survive to tell their story...

So none of them noticed the immense vessel that slowly approached, nor did they stir when it activated a tractor beam to pull their shuttle into one of its' landing bays.

The suited figure who boarded the shuttle was met with no resistance as it carried them away.

* * *

Shildy groaned as she regained consciousness, interrupting a whispered conversation taking place nearby. She opened her eyes to see Amy, Catty, and Spea rushing towards her.

"You're AWAKE!" squealed an excited Amy. "We're so glad that you're okay!"

Shildy smiled weakly at her friend. "I'm happy to see you, too. But... where are we?" She asked as she used her elbows to lever herself into a sitting position and looked around her. They were obviously in a medical facility, but that raised even more questions. "Did another ship survive and rescue us?"

"In a manner of speaking..." Spea noted.

Shildy cocked an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

Catty took a step forward and continued. "Both the Paranoid and Solnoid fleets were wiped out. Not a single ship survived to come to our aid."

Shildy grew even more confused by this statement. "But... then how are we still alive?"

"Because I had a promise to keep," replied a shadow near the door.

Shildy recognized the voice immediately. "Marcus," she said with a smile, "you came back."

He returned her smile as he approached the bed. "I said I would, didn't I? I feel that I should apologize for the way I left, but I suspect that you now understand why I had to." Shildy simply nodded her head. "I should also apologize for being so late in getting to you – your energy signature was barely readable over the residual radiation of the battle, so I had to find you the old-fashioned way."

Spea placed her hand on his shoulder. "Nick of time, I'd say," she noted with a grin.

Marcus tilted his head and narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Sentinel tells me that your vital signs are now back to normal. I think it will do you some good to be up and about." He offered his hand to her, and she took it without hesitation.

As she swung her legs off the bed, Shildy realized that she was wearing only an infirmary robe. "Ummm... I think I'm going to need to change first," she observed, her cheeks slightly coloured. "Is my uniform... but I guess I won't be needing a uniform anymore, will I?" She had just noticed that the other girls weren't in uniform either – Catty wore a light purple skirt and a yellow sweater, Amy sported grey slacks with a white tank-top beneath a blue jacket, and Spea had opted for a black pseudo-leather pant and vest set that covered a green button-down shirt.

Marcus shook his head in agreement. "Now that your war is over, you don't have to worry about military customs anymore." He pointed to a door at the other end of the room. "Anything you want can be fabricated in the changing room there. We'll wait in the corridor while you're deciding." With that, he ushered the other girls out the door.

Twenty minutes later, the door slid open and Shildy stepped out to show off to her companions. She had chosen a white dress with leggings and a half-jacket that matched the bright blue shade of her eyes. Grinning at them, she performed a quick pirouette to show off her new attire. "What do you think?" She asked. Their smiles and four upraised thumbs was all the approval she needed, and she joined them as Marcus escorted them down the corridor.

"So, ummm, what's going to happen to us now?" Amy posed her eternal question.

"Well," Marcus responded, "our first stop is the lounge. I think you could all use a good meal, and we can watch the stars go by as we tell each other stories about what's been happening since we last saw each other."

Amy showed her disappointment at that answer with a pout. "I meant AFTER that!"

The other three chuckled at her outburst before Marcus answered. "You'll be welcomed into Solnarian society. We aren't at war with anyone, so you can do whatever you want to. The choice is yours."

Shildy walked up beside him and took his hand into hers. She smiled at him as she intertwined their fingers, "I already know what I want to do, and who I want to be."

Marcus smiled back at her, as they walked together into a new universe that was filled with endless possibilities.

 **-FIN-**


	11. Author's Question

To all who have read and enjoyed this story...

I'm considering an 'expanded' version - something with a few details changed, plus more dialog and (hopefully!) descriptive language. Would that be something worth doing?

Opinions are welcome in the reviews or in PM...


End file.
